A Fire Burns in You
by hatchling
Summary: Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 11 are on a mission to deal with a bunch of missing-nin, but things don't go quite as Shikamaru planned. One mistake threatens to cut Naruto's life short, but luckily someone unexpected stumbles upon the scene and teaches the young shinobi yet another important lesson about the meaning of the Will of Fire. Rated T to be on the safe side!


Hi, guys! This is something I wrote for a competition - the point was to choose a character and use a story to tell why you like him/her. I originally wrote it in Finnish and later translated it to English. It was not as easy as I thought it would be... So, please forgive me my mistakes! I checked it a million times, but something probably slipped through anyway. Let me know what you think! :)

... ... ...

"'C'mon, guys!" Shikamaru's strained voice yelled. He could just barely keep a hold of his opponent. "We have to stall them a little longer!"

"If only it was that simple", Neji commented in his calm style. "Hinata!" he called out, when a small group of enemy ninjas charged toward Naruto's motionless form. The younger Hyuga was by his side in a blink of an eye, blocking a strike after another and not a single blow hit its target.

They were all there, the whole Konoha 11, working on a single mission. Their goal was to destroy a group of rogue ninjas. This was supposed to be a simple B-rank mission, but the enemy had proven to be much stronger than the leaf village originally assumed. Despite the miscalculation, the young shinobi had managed to reduce the number of their opponents from a couple of dozen to the nine strongest, and Naruto was currently gathering natural energy to defeat the last of them. Rasen shuriken was their best shot, and right now it fell on the rest of the team to cover for the young sage.

Much to their chagrin, the enemy wasn't only strong, but smart as well – it hadn't taken long for them to realize to focus their attacks on Naruto. Shikamaru, the captain of the team, thought this was endlessly troublesome.

"At this rate, they'll land a hit and shatter his concentration", Shino said quickly, leaping by the shadow-user and dodging a hostile jutsu. "Because they attack so efficiently."

"I know", Shikamaru answered through gritted teeth. "Someone has to get this guy off my hands so I can think!"

"Where's Kiba?" Shino asked and sent a wave of insects to absorb a jutsu that was directed toward Naruto.

"I'll be there in a second!" the mentioned boy yelled. Shikamaru trusted his shadow stitches to hold for another moment and risked a glance over his shoulder. He saw Kiba sitting under a tree, while Sakura tended his injuries.

"Well, of course", the strategist snorted. Kiba could never defeat his current opponent, not in the shape he was in. Besides, their styles were a terrible combination. The enemy was cunning and treacherous, while the Inuzuka was known to act before bothering to do much thinking. Shikamaru swept the battlefield with his gaze, searching for Tenten. The long distance specialist would be an ideal opponent for this particular guy, but an enemy close combat fighter was keeping the girl busy. Luckily, Lee dashed to her aid.

Ino was also far from her comfort zone, but she was holding her own with Choji against four enemy ninjas. Now that Kiba's injury was treated, Sakura was obviously itching to join the fight, but Shikamaru gave her a sharp glance to remind her of her job. The medical ninja could absolutely not get hurt, it would make the battle so much more difficult. The kunoichi offered him a short nod, letting him know, that no matter how much she did not like it, she understood her position.

The Hyugas were doing everything they could to keep the remaining three...

Wait... Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat as he searched for the third enemy, who had just been pestering the cousins. Despite how carefully he counted, the enemy ninjas only added up to eight. One was missing.

"Goddammit!"

Shikamaru reached into the last shreds of chakra he had left and managed to snap his opponents neck. Then, with infuriatingly shaky legs, he sprinted toward Naruto.

Hinata whirled around, surprised by the disappearance of his opponent. She quickly scanned her surroundings with the byakugan, but found no sign of his chakra. She forced herself to keep her nerves in check and focused on thinking about what she had learned about locating the enemy. If he wasn't anywhere around her... Or above her... When she looked down, it was already too late. The ground opened under her feet and the shinobi she had been fighting reached for her from the crack. He grabbed her by the ankle tossed her away from Naruto, yelling at another rogue ninja:

"Toss 'em, Kura!"

One of Choji and Ino's opponents moved with lightning speed. He snatched a giant shuriken from his back and threw it at Naruto with deadly precision. Choji's extended hand couldn't reach it and to his horror Shikamaru realized, that no matter how fast he forced his exhausted legs to move, he could never make it in time.

Several voices cried out at the same time and blood splattered on the leaf-covered ground.

…... …... …...

Naruto was floating in the peace of his own serene mind. Serene was a word, that was rarely used to describe him, seeing as he was known for his overwhelming emotions and hot headed reactions. Not that he was any less emotional, but natural chakra had a very calming effect. It made him feel more confident. It was clear proof of his progress and he felt like he was one step closer to becoming the Hokage. Not to mention, that it gave him more strength to protect what was really important – his friends and companions.

After the destruction of Konoha a lot of people had placed their trust on him, and he desperately wanted to be worth that trust. If only he could beat the rest of the rogue ninjas... But natural chakra couldn't be rushed. He would just have to be patient and trust his teammates, just like they trusted him.

Getting closer to the sage transformation, Naruto started sensing the chakra around him. He could sense Sakura, Shikamaru, Bushy-brow... Everything seemed to be in order. Then why did such a bad feeling suddenly strike him? And why was there another familiar chakra surrounding him so completely? Naruto could recognize that chakra any time, anywhere. It was the first one he had truly learned to care about, and the first one, that gave him the acceptance and recognition he had so badly needed.

"Iruka-sensei", he breathed out and opened his eyes to reality.

Iruka's face was only an inch away from his, and Naruto couldn't help but to think about the time the teacher had shielded him from Mizuki's shuriken. Actually, the moment felt way too similar. The only difference was, that this time Iruka was not crying, but smiling.

"Hey, Naruto", he said, a small streak of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. All color fled from Naruto's face, when he finally understood the situation. His friends were still fighting, except for Shikamaru, whose legs seemed to have given out, and Sakura, who was running toward them. Frozen to the spot, Naruto turned his gaze back to Iruka.

"I-Iruka-sensei! What have you done!?" he burst, leaning slightly to the side to see the huge shuriken that had sunk deep into the teacher's back.

"Ah", he chuckled quietly, "you shouldn't be worrying about me. You have something more important to-"

A harsh coughing fit interrupted him and blood rained on Naruto's orange coat. Iruka fell forward, breathing heavy and labored. Naruto caught him, his previously so calm mind plunging into chaos.

What the hell was Iruka doing outside the village? Not to mention in the middle of the battle! What if he died? The thought was insufferable and the sage's grip of Iruka tightened briefly. Someone had thrown a shuriken at his teacher. Someone had placed his teacher's life in jeopardy. Red, hot, fiery rage surfaced in his mind, but when Iruka coughed weakly, it vanished.

No.

Naruto could never let rage consume him when it was about Iruka. The teacher had seen past that rage and what followed not far behind it, and he would never have Naruto lose control for his sake. So, the sage drew in a deep breath and regained control.

"Sakura-chan", he said when the kunoichi reached them. "I need to leave Iruka-sensei to you for a moment. Do not let him die."

Sakura stared for a split second, surprised by her teammate's calm tone and the familiar, determined shine in his eyes. Then she nodded. "You can trust me", she promised, same resolve in her voice. They lowered the barely conscious Iruka to the ground and Sakura started tending the wound.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru called out to him. "Prepare the Rasen shuriken and wait for my signal!"

"Yosh! I'll end this, believe it!" Naruto swore, as his shadow clones all but filled the clearing, and in a flash, eight Rasen shurikens lit it with their bright, blue light.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and forced himself to capture an enemy one more time. All he needed to do, was hold him still... The others caught on quickly. Choji grabbed a hold of two enemy ninjas, one for each massive hand. Ino used her mind transfer successfully and Hinata moved to cover for her empty body. Akamaru closed his jaws around an enemy ninja's leg and Tenten nailed another one to a tree with a couple of well aimed kunais. Neji and Lee managed to strike both their opponents to the ground.

"Now!" Shikamaru screamed and Naruto leaped forward. Every single Rasen shuriken hit their targets and when the dust settled, the Konohan ninja's saw they had finally won. Shikamaru fell onto his knees again and looked around with unfocused eyes. His team seemed to be alive.

"Ino? Are you alright?" he asked the blonde kunoichi, who was slowly waking up in her own body on Hinata's arms.

"Yeah, I'm fine", she moaned her reply. "Although I made it out at the last second... Damn, Naruto is fast."

"That was pretty close", Choji mumbled and Shikamaru huffed, without bothering to think whether the Akimichi was talking about the mission, Ino's jutsu or Naruto's fricking _life. _Everyone was alright. No, wait...

"Iruka-sensei!" he heard Naruto yell.

"Well, fuck everything", the shadow user sighed as Choji helped him up and started walking him to the teacher.

Naruto was already kneeling next to Sakura, supporting Iruka, who couldn't muster the strength to sit up by himself. Sakura had removed the shuriken and was now trying to contain the bleeding with chakra treatment.

"How bad is it?" Naruto asked, shocked by the amount of blood. Sakura clicked her tongue. There was a concentrating look on her face and a couple of beads of sweat rolled on her forehead.

"That shuriken scratched his lung, hence all the coughing... I can't believe how deep this is... If that had hit you from straight ahead, I could have done _nothing_!" the kunoichi finally answered. Naruto flinched at her tense voice and looked down at Iruka's pained face. His stomach twisted and for a moment he thought he would throw up.

"Is he going to be okay?" he heard his own voice ask.

"He's bleeding so much", Sakura answered, her voice suddenly shaky and worried. "I had to take the shuriken out, he couldn't have been moved that way..."

"Sakura", Iruka interrupted her quietly. "You're doing a great job. Don't worry. It's not your fault, if..."

"Stop!" Naruto interrupted him in turn, suddenly angry again. "Why are you here? Why did you do this!?"

Naruto didn't ever realize he was yelling. How could Iruka be that calm, that _calming_, even when he was so badly hurt? How could he just accept the fact that he might not survive?

The whole team was now gathered around them and Lee's eyes were glimmering with tears. Naruto couldn't see them. The situation was too overwhelming. Iruka sighed, somehow managing to sound like he was scolding a misbehaving student. It annoyed Naruto endlessly – didn't he see he couldn't just go ahead and die?

"Listen, Naruto", Iruka started patiently. The boy was about to interrupt him, but when the teacher's hand landed on his shoulder, he couldn't find the right words. "I don't expect you to understand, you always do everything in your power to save everyone. But I don't mind dying, if it means one of my students gets to live. I don't go to life threatening missions every day, but I have my own way of living according to the Will of Fire... Looking at you I see, that I must be doing something right."

Naruto still didn't know what to say. Iruka looked so content, despite the pain evident on his face and the exhaustion that colored his voice.

"Actually... I feel like the Shinobi world is about to go through some radical changes, thanks to your generation. You have already done miracles, Naruto, and I believe you have to live and lead Konoha into that change. That's what I believe", Iruka told and chuckled at the confusion on Naruto's face. His vision blurred and Naruto had to hold him again to keep him from falling. He felt like a barbed wire was tightening around his heart.

"Iruka-sensei..!" Lee wept, sniffing and wiping the endless stream of tears from his cheeks. Sakura was biting his lip, fighting to keep from crying. Shikamaru was leaning his whole weight to Choji. He felt a wave of nausea wash over him. Iruka was something else... He had the patience to handle snot-nosed brats at the academy and the courage to throw himself in front of a shuriken to save someone else's life. Iruka had understood the meaning of the King long before Shikamaru.

"Cha", Sakura snorted suddenly, gritting her teeth. She had squeezed her eyes tightly shut and crossed her arms over her chest. All this to keep herself from breaking down and crying her eyes out. "Idiots... We have no time for this! Let's drag our asses back to the village. Then we can talk more about how Naruto will save the world."

Shikamaru would have given the order to do as she said, but he had no more energy to form coherent sentences. Choji, of course, knew what he was thinking and soon they were on their way.

…... …... …...

It had been three days since the mission and nine young shinobi gathered at Choji's favorite restaurant for barbecue. All the three full teams got seated around one table and happy chatter filled the booth in a moment. Shikamaru had just been released from the hospital, and even though gathering such a big group was very troublesome, it felt good to be out and about.

"You guys have to see the new attack Akamaru and I have been practicing, it's awesome!" Kiba exclaimed excitedly, waving his hands in the air. "Right, Hinata?"

The Hyuga in question blushed a little, but smiled and nodded. "Yes, Kiba-kun. It's very strong."

"There you have it!"

"Nobody doubted it", Shino deadpanned and poked at his food.

"Ooooooh!" Lee shouted, slamming his hands on the table. "Everyone's making progress and learning new attacks. I must, too! Tomorrow, I shall jump around Konoha thirty times, on one foot – fifteen laps each!"

"And that'll make a new attack?" Neji asked, unimpressed. "Why won't you do something less brainless."

"You're right", Lee admitted, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "I'll jump thirty laps on each foot. And then I'll do it again, on my hands!"

Neji sighed, but refrained from making further comments. Tenten rubbed a hand over her face, smiling tiredly. Choji didn't bother talking at all – he was too focused on eating his third serving, while Ino watched expressionlessly. His appetite had stopped surprising her long ago.

"Umm", Hinata started shyly, looking down at her hands, "Does anyone know how Iruka-sensei is doing?"

The group fell silent and Hinata lowered her head in embarrassment. She hadn't meant to ruin the good mood. "I mean", she mumbled, "I went to see him yesterday, but he was still unconscious... Naruto was there too."

"I visited him today when I was leaving", Shikamaru said. "I heard he woke up sometime during the night, but he was asleep when I saw him. There was a shitload of flowers and cards..."

"Iruka-sensei's academy class visited him."

All the nine young ninjas turned to look at the open side of the booth, where Naruto and Sakura were standing. Naruto looked exhausted, but happy. Sakura was smiling next to him.

"Hey! Make room", Choji called out, mouth full of meat. The others squeezed in tighter and the two sat to the end of the table, opposite of each other.

"Well, that would explain it", Shikamaru chuckled. "You two came from there?"

"Naruto has been sitting there since we got back", Sakura stated, eyeing her teammate with gentle eyes. "I had to practically drag him out..."

Naruto let out a laugh and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well... I couldn't leave him alone", he said, looking down with an almost sad smile on his lips. "I don't know what I would do if he died."

"Luckily we don't need to think about that anymore. More meat, waitress! But Iruka-sensei seems to have quite a trust on you, Naruto", Choji said in his straight forward style and Ino elbowed his side sharply. "Ow!"

"Iruka-sensei was the first one to accept me. Kyuubi's jinchuriki. Even though Kyuubi killed his parents back when he attacked Konoha", Naruto answered quietly. Everyone fell silent again, even Choji took a break from his eating.

"That's terrible", Tenten said eventually, shocked. "How did we not know about that?"

"Iruka-sensei was never one to make a number out of himself", Shikamaru commented, hiding his surprise well. "I guess he could relate to you, Naruto."

"Yeah, that's what he said", Naruto muttered, gaze still downcast. "I was so lonely in the academy. All the adults knew there was something weird about me and they all gave me this look... That certain look. And I don't blame them, now that I know better. Back when Mizuki abandoned Konoha, Iruka saved my life twice. He shielded me from a shuriken, just like he did a couple of days ago. And then he said, that... That there's someting more to me, than just a demon.

"It was the first time anyone acknowledged me. Even later, when I've felt like there's no one left for me, Iruka-sensei has been there."

The other's listened in complete silence and a couple of them felt a small torch of guilt scorching their guts. Shikamaru remembered how he had noticed the looks the grown ups were giving Naruto. He had just decided to stay out of it – it had all seemed so damn troublesome. The grown ups know what they were doing, someone would eventually do something... And luckily, one of them had. They could hardly expect a child to know how to deal with something like that. Shikamaru had noticed the change in Naruto, though, when he became a genin after everyone else had already graduated. He was still his hard-headed self, but a new, bright light had shone in his eyes. So, someone had accepted him, the way he was. That explained a lot. Instead of that bottomless loneliness, he had someone. It must have been hard for Iruka-sensei to finally accept the jinchuuriki, whose sealed beast had caused him so much pain... Shikamaru's respect for the teacher grew. He really had chosen the best possible way to execute his Will of Fire – by spreading it forward to all his students. And it spread like a wildfire. Just look at Naruto.

"But", the mentioned jinchuuriki continued in a brighter voice, "now everything's fine. They told me Iruka-sensei will be good as new and then he'll be treating me Ramen at Ichiraku's. He promised me today!"

"That's great! Until that, I guess you'll go for some barbecue? Good! Waitress..!" Choji called, waving his hand in the air, lightening the mood noticeably.

"Be sure not to start harassing him the moment he gets out of the hospital", Sakura reminded Naruto, waving her index finger at his face.

"Of course not!" he answered in an indignant tone. "He needs to get all better, believe it. I'll take him some self-made Ramen tomorrow!"

"That dreadful microwave version?" Sakura asked and took the plate of meat the waitress brought them. "Poor man."

"No, Sakura-chan, I'll make it myself. From the start", Naruto said happily.

"You're kidding, right?" Kiba grinned. "You want him to stay in the hospital for a food poisoning?"

"I think that's a brilliant idea, overflowing with youthful energy!" Lee announced, holding back tears, thoroughly moved by Naruto's thoughtfulness.

"Well, of course", Neji mumbled and Tenten giggled into her hand.

"We could take Iruka-sensei some flowers, though", Ino thought out loud, waving a recently grilled piece of meat in her chop sticks. "We should go to the shop and see what... Choji!"

"I'm sorry", said Choji, who had just snatched and eaten Ino's food. "It was too tempting."

"But", Shino started in his quiet voice, "Iruka-sensei was outside Konoha's borders in the middle of the day. Why?"

This time the silence was thoughtful and not exactly silent, as Choji didn't bother to stop eating. Sakura frowned. "Yeah", she said, "we still don't know."

"Let's ask him when we take him the flowers. Although I'm sure, that if we take him any more flowers, he'll have an allergic reaction or something. Never seen that many flowers..." Naruto said.

"I'm sure he appreciates them", Shikamaru said, leaning his back against the wall and smiling. "Finish your lunch and we'll head for Yamanaka shop."

…... …... …...

Iruka woke up to the intoxicating smell of flowers making him sneeze violently. His lungs protested the sudden tug and a burning pain flared on his back, but he didn't care. Shizune had even tried to take away some of the most allergizing flowers, but Iruka wouldn't let her. Each bud was a reminder of something important. In a few days the walls had filled with drawings from his students and a big bunch of get-well-cards sat on his night stand. Still the room felt somehow emptier than before and Iruka frowned. Then he noticed the empty chair by his bed.

"Naruto", he sighed and smiled. The boy had sat there the whole time, until Sakura had visited the room... Iruka started to remember. It was a good thing Sakura had managed to drag Naruto out of the room, though Iruka could have sworn he had heard her bribe him with a promise of a date.

Then he started hearing chatter and footsteps from the hallway, clearly heading for his room. Iruka recognized each and every voice. He closed his eyes. He would need every shred of energy he had, to get through this visit, that much was certain. Still, his smile widened. Everything he had told Naruto was true – he wouldn't mind dying for his students, for the future of his village. Despite that, he was happy he would get to watch the young shinobi grow at least a little longer. He would watch with pride, as his old students changed the order of the whole shinobi world for the better.


End file.
